The Future as a Reflection of the Past

This symposium will deal with the various parameters that affect soil corrosivity and the methods used to measure those parameters. Each soil characteristic has been used at some time in the past to indicate corrosivity, and methods were developed for its measurement. This talk will delve into the background of these parameters and measurements methods and show how past studies affect future understanding. Where did the 10 000 ohm centimeter plateau come from? What was the contribution of the National Bureau of Standards? How did Starkey and Wight affect modern thinking on bacteriological corrosion? What did we learn from the Shepard cane, Columbia rod, and Putman's apparatus? Who was Wenner, anyway?